This invention relates to a device for guiding a flipper door which is adapted to open and close an opening of a cabinet.
A guide device for a flipper door includes a pair of horizontal rails mounted on an inner surface of a cabinet body, and a pair of sliders slidably supported on the rails. Rotatably connected to the pair of sliders are two corners of the flipper door, which two corners are located on the upper side of the flipper door when the flipper door is in the closed position.
In the construction mentioned above, when the flipper door is in a vertical posture in the closed position, the pair of sliders are located at front ends of the rails, i.e., in the vicinity of a peripheral edge of an opening of a cabinet body. The flipper door is opened by being rotated ninety (90) degrees about the sliders. The opened flipper door is pushed into the cabinet body in its horizontal posture. At that time, the pair of sliders are slid respectively along the pair of rails, thereby guiding the flipper door inwardly of the cabinet body.
During the time the flipper door is being guided inwardly of the cabinet body as mentioned, a rotational moment about a vertical axis is sometimes applied to the flipper door. Due to this rotational moment, the sliders contact hard the rails in a direction perpendicular to the rails. As a result, a frictional resistance is generated, and this gives rise to a problem that the flipper door cannot move smoothly.
In order to prevent an occurrence of such a problem as just mentioned, it can be contemplated that the length of the sliders is increased in the longitudinal direction of the rails in order to lessen the frictional resistance between the sliders and the rails when the above-mentioned rotational moment is generated. However, if the length of the sliders is increased, the flipper cannot move sufficiently far into the cabinet body and as a result, the flipper is partly and greatly projected outwardly of the cabinet body.
In order to lessen the frictional resistance, it can be contemplated that a long plate is disposed between a pair of sliders as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,910,916. However, this also requires long sliders in order to mount the plate on the sliders and the flipper door cannot move sufficiently far into the cabinet body.